Physics What are my chances of becoming a research physicist

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Pursuing a career as a physicist in high school raises concerns about job prospects, particularly the likelihood of securing a research position versus ending up in engineering or programming roles. While obtaining a PhD in physics significantly reduces unemployment risk, the reality is that many physicists find themselves in jobs that do not require such advanced degrees. The competition for research positions is intense, with a limited number of roles available compared to the number of graduates produced by academic programs. This disparity highlights the importance of understanding the career landscape for physics graduates, emphasizing the need for realistic expectations regarding job outcomes in the field.
potato123
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I am in high school right now and i would like to be a physicist but i heard a lot of physicists become engineers or programmers instead of a research physicists. And what is the difference between experimental and theoretical.
 
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ZapperZ's article is very comprehensive as far as what it covers, but I don't think it addresses the OP's main question, which is about the chance of success in finding a permanent job.

If you get a PhD in physics and are good at what you do, then you have basically a 0% chance of being unemployed. However, you do have a significant change of ending up in a job that didn't actually require a PhD in physics, and your chances of finding a job doing research are very small. This is just a matter of statistics. One person doing physics research will typically produce some large number of grad students over the course of his/her career -- say 10. The number of physics jobs doesn't grow at an exponential rate of anything like a factor of 10 per generation.
 
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Hello, I graduated from undergrad a few years ago with a Major in Physics and minor in Electrical Engineering. I tried to get experience working on and testing circuits through my professor who studied Neutrinos, however covid caused the opportunity to go away and I graduated with no experience or internships. I have attempted to break into the engineering industry with no success. Right now I am considering going for a Masters in Electrical Engineering and I need advice on if this would be...
So lately, my interest in the realm of optics/optoelectronics/photonics engineering has grown and I have started to seriously consider pursuing a career in the field. I have done a bit of career research and also have done some learning on the side to gather more knowledge on these topics. However, I have some questions on what a career in these fields would look like, and I wanted to find out more about this area to know what I would be getting myself into if I did make the choice to pursue...
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